There could be a new international law to make ecocide a crime. Ecocide is the destruction of the world's ecosystems. Lawyers across the globe are drafting a proposal to make ecocide a crime, similar to crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide. A professor from University College London (UCL) and a former judge at the International Criminal Court are leading this initiative. It has attracted support from several European countries, and island nations at risk from rising sea levels, such as the Maldives. A UK politician called for ecocide to be incorporated into law.
A UCL professor spoke about the need for ecocide to be made illegal and said "the time is right" to use the power of international criminal law to protect our environment. He wants laws to hold governments and multi-national corporations accountable for their environmental damage. The Stop Ecocide Foundation said: "In most cases ecocide is likely to be a corporate crime." It added that ecocide involved "mass, systematic or widespread destruction. It said: "We are probably talking about Amazon deforestation on a huge scale, deep sea-bottom trawling or oil spills."